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A wood-cut in color, by the author. 


iid hz 
LHECHNIQUE 
O; 1S aT sae a 
COLOR WOOD-TUT 


BY 
WALTER J. PHILLIPS 


Preity on, Wath y Seto aay 


tepegreees es 


Dinh Swadesh Se ie Ss 


ae " Published Avani 1, 196 


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Lie~ ape a) a , 


CONTENTS 
PREFACE 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE . 


CHAPTER ONE 
The Print. 
The traditional Japanese method—Scope of the Wood-cut in 
color—Gradations and Hard edges—The Subject. 


WL os ES OS 


Wood—Preparation of Wood—Transfer of Tracing to 
Wood—W ood Substitutes—Cutting Tools—How deep to 
cut—Islands—Broken Lines—Impressions from the Key- 
block—Planning the Color-blocks. 


CHAPTER THREE . 


Printing. 

Paper—Sizing Paper—A Brush for Sizing—Pigment— 
Medium—Brushes—Other Necessities for Printing—Blind 
Printing—The Oriental Printer—Printing—Gradations— 
Drying the Prints — Editions — Marketing Prints — 
Epilogue. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


SOME SOCIETIES OF PRINT MAKERS 


ok 
wsAVE 


abet, 


. 43 


. 61 


. 63 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Frontispiece. A Wood-Cut in Color by the Author. 

A Japanese Artist’s Brush Drawing for a Wood-Cut 
womendingsofa Box - - - + «- -« 

“Hare,” by Allen W. Seaby, with a Full-Size Fragment in Color 


Full-Size Fragment of an HA ee a es ae by “ 
ruemibara 7 -  *lC- - 


Full-Size Fragments of Three Color-Prints by the Author, and One 
by Yeizan Showing Dea SEINE ss SAI 
Hard Edges eh aetes - 


Domrenne by Kunissda - - - - + 6 4 


Diagram Showing a Block with Clamped Ends, the Japanese and 
American Manner oF une ae aS oe Cutting % 
Box- Wood. - ee < he 


eh (On a eT | We. 0) Ci i i cr cr rr 
Sections Showing Method of Cutting a Fine Isolated Line 
How to Hold a Graver and a Carving Tool - ~- 

The Positions of the Register Marks - - - - - 
Types of Brushes Used for Sizing and Printing - 


‘Mary at the Lake.” Color-Print by the Author, Seats a 
Impression of Fir-Grain in the Background 


Barens and Printing Pads - - - - - + « « + 
PerGugeapoiing the Paper - - - + «- 4 4 «4 


“Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.” Color-Print by William Giles, with 
a Full-Size Fragment in Color. Following page - - ~- 


“The Jetty. Sennen Cove.” Color-Print by John Platt, with a 
Fragment in Color, Full-Size. Following page - - - - 


“The Shinto Temple of Masaki, Yedo, in Snow,” by Hiroshige, 
with a full-‘Size Fragment in Color. Following page 


“Wrylye Mill Bridge,” by the Author. Following page - - ~- 
7 


18 
20 
22 


24 


24 
28 


30 
30 


a2 
33 
34 
34 


38 
50 
50 


56 


56 


56 
56 


ILLUSTRATIONS (Continued) 


PROGRESSIVE PROOFS 
Following page 60 


The Key-Block Used for the Frontispiece. 
Impression from the Key-Block. 

The Gray Block. 

Impression from the Gray Block. 

The Blue Block. 

Impression from the Blue Block. 

The Green Block. 

Impression from the Green Block. 

The Brown and Yellow Block. 


Impression from the Brown and Yellow Block. 


PREFACE 


'HE ideal of a water-color woodcut is no 


oa | 


a——! 


\NSal ie, longer a feeble parody of the Japanese color- 
Oy iKSH print that ceased two centuries ago; that 
~ cOlor-print was the outcome of a democratic 
demand, and owed its success to its cheapness, though, 
strange as it may seem, elaboration sometimes brought 
it under the ban of the sumptuary laws. 


Towards the close of last century, the reproduction 
by woodcuts in color of the Chinese and Japanese 
Masterpieces of painting contributed to an extraor- 
dinary development of the craft, which compels our 
admiration and wonder. The creative artist, however, 
did not avail himself of the greatest technical knowledge 
to express himself in this medium. Picture-reproduction 
and literal transcript have always had a pernicious 
influence on art. It brought about the ruin of “white- 


line” engraving invented by Bewick. 


In Japan the early color-print was the result of three 


- men collaborating—the artist, the woodcutter, and the 


printer. The second phase was the reproduction of the 


Old Masters; here the artist’s guidance being removed, 


the woodcutter and the printer alone remained to 


4 imitate as faithfully as they were able the example 
before them, even the accidents of time and decay being 


literally copied. 
9 


They achieved supreme execution, but their work 
was devoid of originality. Finally, the color-print, at 
first the labour of three men, was reduced to two, when 
only imitation was required. In the West the artist 
who desired to make color-prints was forced to do 
everything himself, as trained craftsmen did not exist; 
he was seriously handicapped by the want of technical 
knowledge, but unity of purpose tended to originality; 
nevertheless some artists, indifferent to this, and only 
requiring replicas of their work, have not scrupled to 
go to Japan and employ her craftsmen to reproduce 
their work, and in so doing have acquired much false 
glory. This evil practice is fatal to the true cause of the 
color-print. 


The inherent charm of a water-color print is its 
elusive directness of execution. In painting, the artist 
has to struggle with three aspects simultaneously—his 
idea, form, and color. In the woodcut the two former, 
design and drawing, respectively, can be disposed of at 
leisure, which leaves the artist free to concentrate on 
the perfect harmony of color, and then imprison it for 
ever, without correction, on the beautiful silky surface 
of Japanese paper. The directness of water-color 
printing is akin to fresco painting—neither the one nor 
the other permits of a false touch or desecrating correc- 
tion. Both have a virgin quality of surface similar to 
the undefiled freshness of fruit and flower. The broad 
silhouettes of form, and gradations of color, make the 
watercolor print the decorative equivalent in our 


10 


homes to-day of what the fresco was in the palace of 
yesterday. 


Needless to say that the skill requisite to realize this 
demands a knowledge of the materials and the essential 
technical details, which will enable the artist to express 
his visions with unerring certainty—of all the difficulties 
to be encountered the beginner will find printing the 
most formidable, and in this matter no one is better 
qualified to instruct us than Mr. Phillips, who has a 
complete mastery of his craft. He has the practice in 
addition to the theory. His prints are not the chance 
survivors from countless failures. I have had the 
privilege of watching him print on many an informal 
occasion, and can speak with confidence, happy in the 
thought that it was just such prints which had brought 


two strangers together. 


Chenil Studios 
Chelsea. 


11 


AUTHOR'S PREFACE 


I@xj}OME ten years ago I produced a score of bad 
IMSS] etchings which made me, and many others I 
We) 2) have no doubt, very unhappy. My thoughts 
" were in color; consequently I had little sym- 
pathy with the convention of line as a means of expres- 
sion; I came to abominate the cold unresponsive nature 
of metal, the smell of acid and oil, and the dirtiness of 
printing inks. I meditated sadly upon the fact that if 
Meryon had not become afflicted with color-blindness, 
he never could have forsaken canvas for copper, and 
that Michael Angelo must have loved color, though he 
never had much time to play with it, for Vasari said 
that he was so pleased with Martin Schongauer’s print 
“St. Anthony tormented by the Devils” that he set 
himself to color it. Then I recalled an article in “The 
Studio” by Allen W. Seaby on printing from wood- 
blocks, re-read it, and the mutation from desire to ac- 
complishment resulted. A magazine article on such a 
subject may be inspiring, as this was emphatically, but 
its brevity precludes its use as a manual. I had, there- 
fore, all the fun of experimenting blindly more or less, 
which perhaps fired my enthusiasm. Morley Fletcher's 
book unfortunately did not come my way until recently, 
or I would have been saved many pitfalls. However, 
he inspired Allen Seaby, who activated me, so that he 
merits my acknowledgments. I tender very grateful 
13 


acknowledgments also to my fellow color-printers Wil- 
liam Giles, Allen W. Seaby, Y. Urushibara, and 
Frances H. Gearhart, for sympathy and generous con- 
tributions in an interchange of ideas, and to the three 
first and to John Platt, A. J. Musgrove, and Martin 
Hardie of the Victoria & Albert Museum for permission 
to reproduce their work or prints in their possession. 


Winnipeg, Feb. 28, 1926. 


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THE COLOR WOOD-CUT 


Chapter I 


Peer RDN DE 


4) apposite and euphonious name for the prod- 
Iz j ucts of this delicate craft. It is variously 
called the color wood-cut, wood-block print, 
color-print from wood-blocks, wood-cut in color, and 
chromoxylograph. To enlightened enthusiasts, how- 
ever, certain distinguishing features reveal its identity 
at a glance: no label is necessary. Even our unsophis- 
ticated friends who annoy us by remarking, “How 
Japanese,” subconsciously recognize those characteris- 
tics which are peculiar also to a Japanese print, dimly 
remembered perhaps. The annoyance arises from the 
feared implication that we are copyists in subject or 
treatment, or both, whereas the common qualities that 
establish the relationship result merely from a similarity 
of method. Simplicity, which involves direct graphic 
statement and purity and transparency of color, is an 
essential feature, and one consequent upon the tech- 
nique; a virtue easy of attainment. Regarded technically 
the craft is the simplest ever devised. It is the oldest 
too. No press is necessary; nothing save a plank and a 
knife to make the engraving, and paper, color, and 
17 


brushes, with a printing pad (for which many things 
will serve) to secure an impression. 


In the days of the illuminated manuscript the wood- 
cut was sometimes used for capital letters, but in out- 
line only. The print was colored by hand. So were the 
earlier Japanese prints. Several authoritative historical 
accounts of the craft have been published, also complete 
descriptions of Japanese methods. It is unnecessary to 
deal with history here, but you—potential chromoxylog- 
raphist, to whom I address these remarks—had better 
make an immediate, if for the present slight, acquain- 
tance with traditional practice before we can discuss 
the physical aspects of the color wood-cut. 


THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MetTHop. ‘The artist 
made a drawing with the point of a brush and Chinese 
ink on paper of a landscape, an actor, a fish or a bird, 
and gave it to the block-cutter to engrave, with some 
instruction regarding color. The block-cutter pasted the 
drawing face down on a polished plank of mountain 
cherry wood. (Those who have heard that wood- 
engravings are cut on the end grain of box-wood or 
maple must not confuse that process with this. Cherry 
wood is cut plankwise: with the grain and not across it. 
The thickness is, roughly, one inch). He scraped away 
the superfluous thickness of paper, and oiled the rem- 
nant in order to render it transparent and so clarify the 
drawing. With a knife and a gouge he cut away the 
portions of wood uncovered by the drawing to the depth 
of perhaps one-eighth of an inch, so that eventually he 

18 


A Japanese artist’s drawing for a woodcut 
(From a drawing by Hokusai, in the Victoria and Albert Museum) 


_ 


had a facsimile of the original drawing in reverse in 
wood and in relief. He brushed over this a black pow- 
der pigment ground in water, and finally a little paste 
to bind it. Damp paper was superimposed and the back 
of it rubbed with a baren (a pad covered with bamboo 
leaf). An exact reproduction of the original drawing 
resulted. He pasted this on the other side of the cherry- 
wood block, and as before proceeded to lower that por- 
tion of the surface which in the finished print would 
be void of a certain color. A second print was taken 
from the first—the key-block—and pasted on a second 
block of wood, which he cut for another color. And so 
the process continued until all the requisite colors were 
accounted for, ten or twelve perhaps, when a second 
craftsman, the printer, took charge. The finished print 
was made up of impressions from each of the blocks 
dealt with successively. The system of making the 
several blocks fit, or of registering them accurately, is 
described later on. 

There is a Japanese print in the British Museum de- 
picting the various processes in the fabrication of a 
print. The exponents are young ladies. They were 
never employed for the purpose, but they grace the pic- 
ture, and demonstrate things quite effectively. 

The Japanese print of the best period is straightfor- 
ward and simple: an outline in black filled in where 
necessary with flat washes of color relieved only by 
occasional gradations or patterns. Most processes at 
present in use are based upon it, and many modern art- 
ists find in the method an adequate vehicle for the 

19 


expression of their own ideas. The thin, unemotional, 
but very expressive line is now expanded to indicate 
shadow and depth, or manipulated to suggest textural 
differences. Instead of being entirely negative in color 
—the Japanese line is gray, occasionally, as with Uta- 
maro, flesh-red—it has become positive. In Miss 
Mabel Royd’s or Miss Frances Gearhart’s work, for 
example, it has the full value of black in the black and 
white wood-cut, and is originally designed with pictorial 
completeness. In William Giles’ recent work it has 
vanished altogether as outline. Apart from its technical 
significance, in relation to Japanese practice, the reten- 
tion of outline by modern artists is the result of their 
appreciation of its esthetic value. 

No modern maker of color-prints yet has attempted 
to adopt the stereoscopic perspective peculiarly Orien- 
tal, which is contrary to the laws of our somewhat con- 
ventional science. The cubists adopted it, and that was 
one of the most reasonable things they did, for the 
science of perspective is based on the doubtful axiom 
that we are equipped with only one eye—and that im- 
movable. Hold a small box in the position depicted 
below, near to the eye, then vote for the more accurate 
presentment of what you see. 


Of course this applies to very near objects only. But 
neither system is accurate applied universally. 

While some of us follow somewhat blindly the tradi- 
tions of Nippon, others actually employ Japanese crafts- 
men. /\n original print, however, one which may be 
signed by the artist with a clear conscience, is defined as 
one designed, cut, and printed by the artist, and exclu- 
sive societies, such as the Society of Graver-Printers 
in Color, of London, admit only these to their exhi- 
bitions. 

SCOPE OF THE Woop-CuT IN Cotor. Artists are 
perennially implored to consider “the limitations of the 
medium.” Whoever invented this expression exag- 
gerated the limitations of the English language. Weare 
not concerned with what effects cannot be produced 
with our materials. As a matter of fact it is possible, 
if futile, to reproduce a water-color painting with 
fidelity. A great many color blocks would be needed, 
the hard edges of printing surfaces, the impressions of 
wood-grain, and other characteristics would have to be 
obscured: all of which we are rightly adjured to retain 
and to cherish. Mr. Platt very clearly calls this senti- 
ment “the regard for material.” 

Happily simplicity, a great virtue in art, is here a 
necessity, or at least the result of the limitation of the 
number of blocks used. The skill attained by the Jap- 
anese craftsmen in the early nineteenth century, led 
them into useless technical complexities. Now it is 
almost entirely a reproductive medium. The pages of 
the “Kokka” abound in fine examples. All who fre- 

21 


quent picture shops are familiar with the Japanese 
reproductions of drawings by Charles Bartlett, Eliza- 
beth Keith, and Bertha Lum, and have enjoyed the per- 
fect collaboration of Frank Brangwyn and Yoshijiro 
Urushibara. There is no question of degeneration. 
Urushibara has never been surpassed from the point of 
view of technique, it is only that the Japanese masters 
of painting have ceased to regard the color wood-cut as 
a means of original expression, in which the materials 
contribute to the beauty of the design as well as to its 
fabrication. We must so regard it. Lest I should seem 
to do Urushibara an injustice, I must add that in addi- 
tion to his reproductive work he is responsible for some 
of the most interesting original prints of recent years. 


GRADATIONS AND Harp Epces. A beautiful feature 
in the color wood-cut, and one unique in printing, is 
color gradation. The impression of wood-grain is also 
unique and must be considered, not only as regards tex- 
ture and visibility, but for the occasional possibility of 
the expression of form. A soft wood, with hard annu- 
lations, such as fir, prints very clearly. 


The hard edges of all cut shapes—tiines as well as 
color masses—are not peculiar to the wood-cut, but 
modifications are possible, and hard edges provide the 
necessity for sound and simple drawing. 


Mr. Seaby’s “Hare” (page 22) admirably illustrates 
color gradation, achieved in the gray background by 
gradating color on the wood in the same way as on paper 
in watercolor painting, and in the change from brown 

22 


Hare” By Allen W. Seaby 
With a full-size fragment in color 


e* 


to white in the hare’s fur by scraping the wood with a 
knife, thus creating a necessary texture also. 


In Urushibara’s line print (page 24) the leaf veins are 
soft on one side—an effect gained by slightly bevelling 
the wood with a knife or with sand paper. 

Local gradations are made in printing. Two brushes 
are sometimes used, one charged with more potent color 
than the other. Line blocks are nearly always printed 
with some variation of tone, and often in color too. 
The lost edges of the hair in the fragment of “Gloam- 
ing” (page 24) were obtained by printing the dark 
brown wetly with a generous amount of pigment on 
quite damp paper, and over-printing the gray (the 
water), thus causing a spread and gradual dissemination 
of the superfluous brown. 

An obvious method for mitigating hard edges is to 
engrave shade lines as you draw them with a pen, a 
pencil, or an etching needle. 


Tue Supject. Any subject is suitable provided it is 
of sufficient interest, but the design must be very care- 
fully considered, and plenty of time and thought given 
to its construction. It isa responsible undertaking, the 
making of prints. You may be guilty of perpetrating 
an ineffable painting, but make a print of it and your 
crime is a hundred times worse. Subjects may be sought 
from among your paintings, or in your sketch-book, or 
you may deliberately make drawings with a print in 
view. Any medium may be used for recording suitable 
ideas. The Japanese artist invariably drew with a brush, 

23 


but since a long and arduous apprenticeship gave him 
facility with this instrument, and you have not had that 
advantage, I would not recommend it. “It looked very 
simple,” wrote Mrs. Bertha Jaques, in her delightful 
monograph on Helen Hyde, “and I secretly thought it 
easy to do; but repeated trials convinced me that 
such skill is not Heaven-born with the unpractised 
occidental.” 


While a line and wash drawing would suit Mr. Platt, 
Mr. Giles would work from a painting in full color. 
Whatever the medium a cartoon in color is usually 
made, wherein form is very carefully defined, and due 
regard has been given to the simplification of its color 
scheme, its tonal effects and shapes, to accord with the 
number of blocks to be used. Some of the tonal and 
chromatic subtilties which you seem to sacrifice here 
may be picked up again in printing. 


The first block you engrave must serve as a key for 
those that follow, and therefore must embrace as much 
of the design as possible. It may not be a pure line block 
at all. Make it a prevailing color if you like—in a 
figure the color of the flesh shadows; in a sunlit land- 
scape the sun shadows—purple or gray. 


Whatever color you select trace it out upon a sheet 
of, say, rice paper in soft pencil, or pen or brush and 
water-proof ink. Place this tracing between sheets of 
damp newspaper, and let it absorb moisture whilst we 
meditate upon the many varieties of wood, and a little 
longer upon the key-block. 


24 


block by Y. 


ine 


fragment of a li 


S1Ze 


oa 


Full 


ibara. 


sh 


Uni 


From “A Courtesan” by Yeizan From “The Bather” 
A print in the possession of by the author. 
Mr. A. J. Musgrove.’ 


From “Norman Bay” 
by the author. by the author. 


From ‘“Gloaming” 


Full-size fragments of three color-prints showing three methods 
of mitigating hard edges. 


Two or more planes in a picture often necessitate the 
cutting of two line blocks. 

A key-block may be cut with every form outlined, 
irrespective of tone or color, and in the final printing 
may be eliminated wholly or in part. 

Outline may be avoided also by a system of additions 
in which succeeding color-blocks are printed to form 
a key for the next: thus 1 is the key for 2, 1 and 2 for 3, 
1, 2 and 3 for 4, and so on. 

An alternative method: Make your cartoon in color 
on stout tracing paper, which may be conveniently 
stretched in a double frame, and trace each color as 
required directly upon the wood. | 


20 


CUTTING 


From a print by Kunisada in the possession of the author. 


Chapter II 


CUTTING 


IOOD. We require a wood of an even texture 
YING { j —that is, of a consistency by virtue of which 
fej the grain will present no more resistance 
— to the knife than the interstices—yet hard 
enough to withstand a certain amount of wear, and to 
permit of crisp edges to the finest lines. Cherrywood 
is one of the few that possesses all these qualities, and 
although there are many varieties, each is reasonably 
good. The Japanese cutter used mountain cherry, 
heavier than the wild cherry that grows in England, 
which Mr. Seaby has used and of which he has written. 
Canadian cherry is between the two in appearance but 
it is more brittle, and it is cut in a way which suits the 
lumber trade rather than the engraver. However, 
selected planks are sometimes perfect. 


Kauri is a wood from New Zealand whose suitability 
for this purpose was discovered and exploited by Mr. 
Giles. It is remarkable for apparent absence of grain. 


Walnut, maple, chestnut, pear, and oak have all been 
used, but American oak and walnut are unsuitable. 
Though the ideal method is to use blocks sawn from 
one plank for one print, a soft wood is often substituted 

29 


for the color blocks, for reasons of speed and economy. 
Lime, whitewood and gumwood (Circassian walnut) 
are good for this purpose. | 


All woods must be well seasoned. They must also be 
handled and stored with judgment. Do not, for example, 
leave wood exposed to direct sunlight or to heat or 
damp unless you wish it to warp. If warping does occur © 
it may be corrected by damping the concave and drying 
the convex sides. 


I have a set of blocks of which the key is English and 
the colors Canadian cherrywood. The former is no 
more than half an inch thick and somewhat green, and 
is just as competent an instrument as the barometer for 
recording variations in atmospheric humidity. Its length 
varies from eight and a quarter inches to eight and a 
half according to the weather, towards which the other 
blocks maintain a rigid indifference. Consequently, un- 
less I choose my day, printing must be preceded by some 
very careful adjustments. 


Warping, shrinking and expansion will play tricks 
with any system of registration, therefore buy wood by 
the plank, an inch thick, so that you may be sure of 
having seasoned wood to use. 


PREPARATION OF Woop. Wood must be planed first — 
and then scraped. For the latter purpose try discarded 
safety razor blades. One scraping is not sufficient. 
Dampen the wood and loose fibre ends will appear: 
these must be shaved away. Prepare both sides. 

30 


B- 
Cc. 
D-A block Fitt 
clamped en 


Diagram showing block with clamped ends, the Japanese 
and American manner of cutting planks, and the cutting 
of boxwood. 


= 
Wtf / 
oy 


NY, 


Ys 
WS 
AS 


Ue: 


Various cutting tools. 


“ 


- Risk isk of warping is diminished by clamping the ends, 
as in the diagram. 
= Tf possible the wood surface should admit of at least 
re an inch margin around the design, for a purpose which 
wil be explained hereafter. 


_ TRANSFER OF TRACING To Woop. Make some starch, 
‘rice, or flour paste, and brush it over the block evenly 
ae more than once. Do not hurry over it. Recover your 
tracing, which will be damp enough by now, and lay it 
bes dce up on your drawing board. Take up the block in 

your hands and lay it, pasted surface down, upon the 
_ tracing. Smooth out the creases if there are any, but 
Se refully, because some papers will stretch very easily. 


| Now you have the tracing reversed, on the wood, and 
- when dry it is ready to cut. 


Woop Susstitutzs. Linoleum is used as a substitute 

_ for wood, but the word is often anathema to the serious 
_ engraver, who regards it justly as lacking in character 

and vitality. 

_ Mr. Giles has perfected a method of surface printing 

- oe metal plates, which is capable of great refinement 


See ae Toots. The difference between a wood-cut 
id a wood-engraving lies in the fact that the former is 
fashioned with a knife, the other with a graver. The 
knife deals efficiently with wood cut plankwise, the 
33 er with wood cut across the grain—end-grain it is 
d. My knife has a flexible blade. I hold it as I 


hold a . pencil or a pen, and it is almost as serviceable a 
31 


drawing instrument. Its best and most frequent stroke 
is towards me. But any pointed blade will do if it is 
sharp enough. 


You need an oil-stone and a strop. The latter is a 
thick piece of leather mounted upon a slab of wood, and 
dressed with crocus powder. A few rubs of the blade 
on this every few minutes will keep the edge keen, and 
the oil-stone will be needed rarely. 


You may now commence to cut your block. Rest it 
upon the table in front of you, with a folded piece of 
cloth beneath it if it has no clamps. If the design is not 
perfectly clear rub oil over it. 


Select a line. The wood on both sides of it must be 
cut away. The original wood surface is the printing 
surface, and that part of it not actually occupied by 
your design must be lowered. Your isolated line must 
stand up alone. For two good reasons the Rnife cuts 
must be at an angle. First, with a broad base a fine line 
has a good chance of survival, and second, another cut 
must be made to clear the line—the two completing a 
V-cut, which is clean and expeditious. 


Sa san Va SRE 0 7 ASE 
one cut twocuts three cuts the line cleared 


The direction of the stroke is necessarily varied, 
since it is impossible to continuously, in cutting, turn a 
large plank to accommodate a particular stroke. 


32 


When all lines have been cleared in this way, there 
are still surfaces left which must not print. Remove 
them with gouges and a small chisel. 


Wood-carver’s tools are quite suitable, though the 
smaller sizes are better fitted with round ends such as 
the wood-engraver uses—they then have the advantage 
of being manageable with one hand. Their full length 
should be from four and a half to six inches, to suit the 
size of your hand. They should be held in this way: 


OW TO HANDLE 
mie LNG TOOLS 
ae the G Yaver 


% wpe ~~ Soy 
a \ 


aE 


— 


Get a carpenter to show you how to hold the wood- 
carving tools; a diagram will not help you much, though 
I have provided one. There must be something against 
which the plank may be pushed, or you cannot use a 
gouge conveniently. A screw will do, projecting about 
half an inch above the table top, but a strip of wood 

33 


nailed to it is more useful. A careful and experienced 
craftsman never cuts himself because he keeps his tools 
sharp and never takes chances. Keep your left hand 
out of the way of a possible slip and remember that a 
blunt tool is more dangerous than a sharp one. 


Clear the wood away from the furthest limits of the 
design—about one inch beyond them, but at one corner, 
most conveniently the bottom right-hand corner—cut a 
right angle with half-inch arms and clear the wood from 
within them. On the left bottom edge of the block cut 
a half-inch line (don’t bother to measure it) level with 
the lower arm of the right angle. These cuts must be 
vertical, and may be made with a chisel and mallet; they 
are to hold the trimmed edges of the printing paper later 
on and serve as register marks. The diagram makes this 
matter clear. 


34 


Printing anc Sizing D 


Types of brushes used for sizing and printing. 


Thus the outer edges of the design are cleared, ensur- 
ing a finished print with a perfectly clean margin. 


How Dzzp to Curt. Regarding the depth to which 
waste areas need be lowered: do not exceed one six- 
teenth of an inch at the edges, but as you get away from 
them go deeper. The middle of a reduced section should | 
be the deepest, because damp printing paper will sag 
where it has no support. However, the very first im- 
pression taken from your block will show you how far 
you are right. 


Istanps. ‘There is no need to excavate the whole of 
a very large waste area. The middle of it may be left 
standing, but the edges of this “island” must be rounded 
with a chisel, and afterwards sandpapered to prevent 
blind impressions on the printing paper. 


Broken Lines, or parts otherwise spoiled, may be 
mended by inlaying a fresh piece of wood. It isa thank- 
less task, and one cannot help but admire the Japanese 
craftsman who would inlay a piece of boxwood delib- 
erately where very fine cutting was necessary. The 
method is to shape your “peg,” then dig a hole to fit it, 
or vice versa. Glue will help. 


When the cutting and the clearing are finished wash 
off the remains of the rice paper and prepare to print. 


IMPRESSIONS FROM THE Key Brock. At this stage cut 

a cardboard mask of the size of the print including mar- 

gins. Place it on sized printing paper (the process of 

sizing is explained subsequently) and cut around it to 
35 


secure printing sheets of the correct size. Cut sheets of 
newspaper an inch or more larger all round than the 
printing sheets, and brush water evenly over them. 
Place alternate sheets of newsprint and printing paper 
ona board and cover with another. After half an hour 
remove newsprint except the sheets at the top and bot- 
tom of the pile. In perhaps an hour the printing sheets 
will be damped consistently and ready for printing. Use 
a black pigment for printing. Lamp-black ground in 
water, or in gum water, will do. Brush it over the block, 
and add a little paste—very little. There must be no 
superfluous paint or paste between lines or anywhere 
else. The pigment on the block should be damp but not 
wet. Apply a sheet of printing paper—the right-hand 
bottom corner fitting the right angle, and the bottom 
edge the cut line in the left-hand corner. Rub lightly 
with the printing pad over a protecting sheet of butter 


Paper. 


While the sheet is still damp—providing no correc- 
tions are needed—paste face down upon another block. 


Paper expands in varying degrees when damped, and 
for this reason the last caution needs emphasis. Never 
paste down a dry key impression: If you do, the shock 
will come when all the engraving and printing is done. 
The offending color may be a quarter of an inch short 
of requirements, and a hiatus of that dimension in an 
otherwise perfect correlation is quite annoying. It is 
well therefore to have a new block freshly covered with 
paste ready to take the impression immediately it is 

36 


pulled. Or if a number of impressions are dealt with 
keep them between damp sheets. 

It is sometimes necessary to allow the impression to 
dry in order to draw color shapes upon it which have 
not been outlined on the key block. In this case be sure 
when pasting down that the paper is of the same degree 
of humidity as when it was printed. 

Care must be taken to cut away sufficient wood be- 
tween the edge of the design and the edge of the block 
to ensure that the margin of the print shall be safe from 
paint smudges. 


PLANNING THE Cotor Biocxs. When the key is in 
pure outline the planning of the color blocks is a 
straight-forward matter exemplified by almost any Jap- 
anese print. Local color broken only by pattern and 
modified perhaps by gradations, fills in the spaces out- 
lined. Broadly speaking one block is cut for one color. 
Even the addition of light and shade does not complicate 
matters unduly. But the subtile tonal and chromatic 
changes for which we now look in landscape may be 
represented only by the cutting of more blocks and by 
overprinting. | 

The tendency is to simplify, to cut down the number 
of blocks. Instead of using a blue and a yellow and a 
green you try to eliminate the green block and get that 
color by printing blue over yellow. Tone is a factor 
which prevents the extended use of overprinting, 
however. The blue of the sky is not intense enough to 
give a vivid green, say, for the foreground. But the 

37 


carnations of the flesh are invariably and best done in 
this way. Gray in landscape is a valuable undertone. 
In “Wylye Mill Bridge” the ground color is gray with 
only the high lights (in the sky) picked out. Though 
by overprinting a better surface finish is sometimes 
acquired, avoid too much of it. It is bad technique— 
though it happens—to have a number of colors print- 
ing one over the other. The paper becomes sodden, 
which causes delay. 


Make sure the grain of the wood is consistent in qual- 
ity and direction with the texture of whatever the 
color surface represents. In selecting wood for a line 
block let the grain run in the general direction of the 
lines, if possible, since a line cut along the grain is less 
likely to chip than one cut across. 


Rather than use a cheap, thin, and more or less trans- 
parent paper for working proofs, use ordinary printing 
paper, or a fairly heavy paper anyway. If it is too thick 
and opaque after pasting down it may be stripped very 
easily. When dry separate the superfluous stratum with 
a knife at one corner and rip it off boldly. Subsequent 
oiling is necessary. The reason for my preference for 
heavy paper is that it permits of greater accuracy in 
printing. A thin paper will sag over every depression 
and so cause mistakes in dimension. 


Considering one color only, cut around all the 
masses that contain it and remove the intervening 
shapes. Only the surface covered by that one color 
must remain intact. 

38 


“Mary at the Lake” Color-print by the author, 
showing the impression of fir-grain in the 
background. 


Cut along the middle of a fine line which defines a 
color mass. Do not neglect to cut carefully around the 
corner of the paper which in the process of printing 
fitted the right angle (the register mark) which you cut 
on the key block, and along the edge which fitted the 
line. Make exactly similar cuts to those on the key 
block. Done properly this is a perfect system of register; 
on the other hand it is often the cause of much tribula- 
tion to the careless worker. 


Two colors far enough apart may be cut on one block. 


A. simple arrangement of a few colors is generally 
effective where the surfaces are simple and as far as 
possible unbroken. Study the possible effects of wood 
grains, and avoid such mistakes as a vertical grain in a 
sky, or a diagonal grain in a sheet of water. On occasion 
it is desirable to select a piece of wood whose grain will 
not print readily; and conversely a wood like fir which 
prints a most definite grain pattern, has its uses. 


When all the color blocks are cut you are ready to 
print. 


PRINTING 


Chapter III 
PRINTING 


Ps 


EVIES\\\4\PER. Japanese papers are the only suitable 
W\9-XS%) papers obtainable at present. They are made 
expressly for hand printing, and are tough 
enough to withstand hard usage in a damp 
condition, a quality imparted by the long fibre from 
which they are manufactured. Of these Hosho is the 
most venerable. It is made from fibre taken from young 
mulberry shoots, and may be recognized by the water- 
mark-lines, roughly one inch apart, covering the whole 
sheet. It is not so tough as Torinoko, a paper designed 
to hold up under the protracted processes of reproduc- 
tion practised in Japan; which sometimes involve an 
extraordinary number of printings. Torinoko is manu- 
factured from fibres of a species of mallow. Its surtace 
is glossier and more perfect than that of Hosho, and it is 
usually heavier. The difference in texture of printed 
surfaces on these papers makes this description neces- 
sary. With Hosho, pigment apparently remains on the 
surface, though actually it penetrates the paper. With 
Torinoko pigments become incorporated with the paper 
to a greater extent, so much so that it is often impossible 
to move them once printed. The best period of Japa- 
nese color-prints was pre-Torinoko. A number of 
artists still prefer Hosho, the whiter paper; it is by no 
means superseded. 


43 


The hard grained surface of European etching or 
drawing papers takes an unpleasant mottled impression 
—one spotted with white, or whatever color the paper 
may be—an effect which the pseudo-craftsman often de- 
scribes as atmospheric, and similar to that resulting from 
a badly prepared wood-surface which is covered with 
holes and indentations. But occasionally a printmaker 
makes a brave effort to use it. 

The satin texture of printed pigment, discernible in 
good prints, can be attained only by the use of a perfect 
wood surface, Japanese paper properly sized, pigments 
ground in water and applied with paste, and much ex- 
perience. If you examine the back of such a print you 
will see that the pigment penetrates the paper, and 
seems to have become a part of it. 

A certain amount of size may be soaked out of Euro- 
pean papers it is true, but this leaves them too fragile to 
handle in a damp condition. They are made up of too 
short fibres. 


Sizinc Paper. The following mixture (Mr. Urushi- 
bara’s recipe) is sufficient to size about fourteen sheets 
of Torinoko paper (Imperial) on both sides: 


A luni itecaae Gy avenge l~Q 07. 
Gelatine Wen ee 4 0%. 
W ater is ues cnn te 35 028. 


Hosho paper should be sized only on one side, with 
half the quantity of water. 
Heat the water but do not let it boil. Add the gela- 
tine and when that is completely dissolved add the alum. 
44 


Different papers and different woods require slight 
modifications of the recipe. So does a change in atmos- 
pheric conditions. The necessary amount of modifica- 
tion is slight and is best decided by experience. Mr. 
Urushibara advises a pinch more of alum for soft woods 
such as whitewood, or for a soft paper or for a dry 
climate. 


A. BrusH For Sizinc. A broad brush is needed, 
neither thick nor long in the hair. My own is of Jap- 
anese manufacture, six inches in width, the hair one 
and a quarter long and three-eighths of an inch thick. 


Lay a sheet of Hosho paper upon a drawing board 
flat upon the table, smooth side uppermost. With your 
brush full, but not too full of warm size, cover the paper 
evenly. It is a delicate process; use the brush as care- 
fully as though you were painting a portrait. Starting 
at one edge continue until you reach the other with a 
band the full width of the brush. The second stroke 
must touch the first but not overlap it. If possible do 
not go over the same place twice. 


Do not flood the paper. 
Keep the size warm. 


The brush strokes should follow the same direction 
as the lines which constitute the watermark. 
Lay a second sheet over the first, and proceed in the 
same way. 
Creases made during sizing are permanent. There- 
fore carefully avoid making them. 
45 


Leave the pile of sized sheets for a while, so that the 
size may spread evenly through it, but not too long, say 
half an hour. 


Now lay each sheet to dry wpon newspaper spread 
upon the floor, or suspend it from a line strung across 
the room as clothes ave hung up to dry. Use wooden 
clips for the latter purpose. 


The rate of drying varies of course. Once in my 
experience in England, notoriously humid, a whole win- 
ter’s day and a night failed to harden a sheet, whereas 
an hour on a Canadian summer’s day will suffice. Eng’ 
land’s comparative humidity, however, fills the printer’s 
heart with joy. It had much to do with the acknowl 
edged pre-eminence of the English School of Water- 
Color Painting. It is early to claim pre-eminence for 
English chromoxylographists, but the craft flourishes, 
and many boldly make the claim. In that country one 
is never bothered unduly by printing paper which dries 
prematurely, or by wood so dry that much energy must 
be expended in getting it into proper condition. 


Torinoko paper must be sized on both sides with the 
weaker mixture. 


PIGMENT. Buy only colors of proved permanence, in 
powder form—not necessarily finely ground, but dry. 


Mr. Howell C. Brown, of California, and his brother 
have done good work in testing various makes of pig- 
ments. Some results of their labor are recorded in the 
Original Color Print Magazine for 1925. They have 


46 


established the reputation of one color at least—Cad- 
mium Red—which is a notable addition to the modern 
palette. 

Luminosity is a quality dependent as much on tech- 
nique as on the physical properties of individual pig- 
ments. When you are experienced in prints you will 
notice that, held to or against the light at a particular 
angle, the richness of printed color is very much en- 
hanced. Mr. Giles has written of this phenomenon, 
which he calls dichroism, borrowing the term from 
mineralogy. 

Opaque and transparent pigments must be differen- 
tiated, both as regards design and over-printing. Opaque 
colors printed over others often are effective. The addi- 
tion of white to give body and opacity to transparent 
pigment is justified on occasion. Mr. Urushibara has a 
print in which slim grasses and flowers with hovering 
butterflies are overprinted on a ground of solid black. 
Some artists justly question the propriety of using colors 
which change in artificial light, regarding the fact that 
pictures are more often viewed thereby than by day- 
light. Blue, for example, unless with a greenish bias, 
loses most of its quality. 

Some colors print very easily and smoothly, but oth- 
ers sometimes need the addition of glue or gum to ease 
their transference from wood to paper. The color is 
ground in water, conveniently on a ground glass slab 
with a muller. 

Mepium. The medium or binder is paste, made with 
starch, flour or rice. The first is most easily made, but 

47 


its adhesive properties are apt to injure the surface of 
the paper if too much is used. Rice paste does no harm 
in that way. 

To make starch paste, mix dry starch with enough 
cold water to make a stiff cream. (A teaspoonful of 
starch makes a cup of paste). Add boiling water, stir- 
ring the while, until the liquid thickens. If it does not 
thicken, boil it. 

For printing add water after the thickening occurs, 
until you have a liquid of the consistency of milk, be- 
cause further coagulation takes place when the paste 
cools. Rice flour or powder should always be boiled 
with water. 


Gum arabic may be used as a binder, with glycerine 
or paste, for special purposes, where, perhaps, a little 
more intensity of color is desired. 

An intense black may be obtained by grinding the 
crude pigment in warm glue size. This is the Tsuya- 
Zumi of the Japanese. According to Mr. E. F. Strange 
the glue-water medium used was made in the propor- 
tion of about one-third of an ounce of glue to three- 
fourths of a pint of water, in which a little alum had been 
dissolved. This mixture coagulates of course unless it 
is warmed, and may be kept some time in that condi- 
tion without deterioration. While in use the vessel 
containing it should be kept standing in a pan of hot 
water. 


BrusHes. A variety of brushes are suitable for 
spreading color over the blocks. An inch hog-hair brush, 


48 


such as is used for oil-painting, is adequate for smaller 
areas, but a wider and thicker brush is better. Probably 
the best is the badger brush made especially for this pur- 
pose by the Bryce-Smith Company of London. An inch 
brush of that type is an inch long in the bristle and 
three-quarters of an inch thick. 


Cut up newspaper two inches larger all round than 
the printing paper. Dampen them evenly with a brush, 
but not so much as to show a watery sheen on the sur- 
face. On each sheet lay a piece of printing paper, right 
side down (always stack your printing sheets in this 
way), and leave the pile to stand with a board on top 
for, say, one hour. A sheet of zinc or glass is really 
preferable to a board, which very soon warps under this 
treatment. 


Take out the damp news:sheets, and distribute them 
between top and bottom of the pile. Ina humid atmos- 
phere one or two sheets only are necessary; the rest 
may be removed altogether. Leave for at least one hour 
and a half. Damp paper will not mildew for three days 
at any rate. The most convenient time for damping is 
the evening previous to the day of printing; the papers 
may remain piled safely all night. 


Japanese printers dip the printing sheets in water and 
hang them up to drain. The time allowed for drainage 
is about twenty minutes, but it depends obviously on 
the state of the atmosphere. Blotting paper may be 
used for absorbing superfluous moisture. 

49 


OrHer NEcEgssitTizes FoR Printinc. The printing 
pad, or baren, as it has come to be called, is not yet 
standardised in the West, as it has been for more than 
a century in Japan. The Japanese baren is a most effi- 
cient tool, but dependent upon a steady supply of bam- 
boo leaf which forms its outer covering. The body is 
made up of a disc of cardboard, overlaid by a closely 
woven web of twisted bamboo leaf. Horsehair is some- 
times added. The cover, flat on the underside, is twisted 
on the other, and its two ends tied to form a handle. 
Buy one if you can—there is nothing so good. 


A substitute, of hard wood, is easily constructed. My 
own is merely a disc with one ribbed face, with a block 
of wood forming a grip screwed or glued to the other. 
The disc should be four or more inches in diameter, and 
a quarter to one inch in thickness. The ribs may be 
anything from four to twenty to the inch. The larger 
ribs necessitate a thicker wood, and are made on a 
planing machine. The small ones are cut on a wood- 
engraver’s ruling machine, or they may be dug out lab- 
oriously by hand with a V-tool or a graver. They 
should be moulded into fairly shallow rounded shapes, 


LA _L.—— OT OOO 


because a cup-shaped depression will occasion suction 
in rubbing, that is, besides forcing the printing paper 
down to the wood it will tend to raise it again, which is 
awkward. At intervals wipe the face of the baren with 


50 


Aa 
we \ PB . . 
= rN / NS _—— A B 
Zp 
K, 


\ tT 

a OW) 

: | 

WI \) 

Ny 

| fpf 

Mh IH) 

Yi} 
MA 


Printing—applying the paper. 


oo 


an oil rag, unless like the oriental a rub on the back of 
your head will give a similar result. 


It is advisable to interpose a sheet of butter paper in 
printing, as a protection to the print, though it is not 
always necessary. 


You will need also a rag or a sponge for cleaning the 
blocks after each impression. 


I have not yet mentioned any of the host of substi- 
tutes for the baren, except my own, which I have found 
to be effective. Mr. Giles has one constructed of ribbed 
glass, with a wooden grip glued to the disc. Sharkskin, 
book-muslin and other kinds of cloth have been recom- 
mended as a substitute for bamboo leaf. Cloth of any 
kind is especially futile, at least that is my experience; 
apparently other artists have found it useful for it is 
frequently mentioned. Such unlikely tools as a photog- 
rapher’s squeegee (a rubber roller), and a cocoa tin lid, 
give results. 

All this equipment must be arranged tidily on the 
table before you—the block directly in front with a wad 
of wet paper or rag under each corner so that it cannot 
slip; to the left your baren on a sheet of butter paper, 
the oil rag beside it; to the right your glass color-slab and 
muller, and brushes, and beyond them your bowls of 
paste and clean water; beyond the block the pile of 
printing sheets. 

Do not think me fussy when I specify tidiness. It is 
essential. The wet materials only too easily soil the 
dry ones, which in turn soil the print unless you are 

51 


watchful, and they must be separated as widely as pos- 
sible. Cultivate cleanliness also in printing. Wash 
rags, brushes and paint slab after each color, and always 
work with clean water. 


Burnp Printinc. This is a process of embossing for 
which a block is cut with thought of a delicate relief but 
no color. Much pressure is needed in printing. It is 
evident that such blocks must not be cut in reverse, 
and that the pattern to be printed must be impressed on 
the back of the print. Rain might be effectively sug- 
gested by this method, and some textures and patterns. 


THE OrrENTAL Printer kept his coor in pots, 
already ground in water and ready for use, and he sat 
on the floor “with his legs neatly tucked away beneath 
him,” as Mrs. Jaques describes Muratta san, “and was 
nearly lost to view behind piles of papers, blotters, 
printing blocks, a whole battalion of old blue and gray 
bowls and brushes.” But I cannot sit comfortably on 
the floor, and I like to mix color as I need it on the 


ground glass slab. 


Printinc. Brush the water-color vigorously over 
the block, which should be damp—but not wet—on the 
surface so that color will not dry too quickly on it. Add 
a little paste and brush again, this time more carefully 
and evenly, the final strokes as delicate as possible, cov- 
ering the whole printing area and in one direction. 


As to the amount of paste, a block six inches square 
would require as much as would flow on a Canadian 
nickel (or an English threepenny-bit). Too much paste 

| 52 


—I am speaking of starch paste—will pull fibre ends 
from the paper or, worse still, a fatal slice of its surface. 
The latter catastrophe happens only when the paper is 
soft owing to weak size, or when you neglect to wipe 
from the wood the gathering film of superfluous paste 
which in a very short time becomes sticky enough for a 
fly trap. Rice paste does not offend so badly in this 
way. Paste, pigment, and especially water must be used 
sparingly; there should be no free moisture or super- 
fluous color anywhere, neither in the hollows nor 
between lines. 


Make sure the pigment does not lie in streaks. 


Immediately the color is laid satisfactorily take up a 
sheet of damp paper in the fingers leaving ‘your thumbs 
free to hold the right hand bottom corner in the depres- 
sion you made to receive it, and the bottom edge on the 
left side snugly against the other register mark. Let the 
sheet fall gently over the block, holding on at the regis- 
ter marks to ensure its correct placement. 


Unfortunately my early education in this craft was 
deficient. I have developed certain bad habits; among 
them a method of laying paper on a block—a method 
which on one occasion excited an unreasonable amount 
of hilarity in my friend Mr. Giles. I will describe it for 
what it is worth, but I will not recommend it unless you 
cannot manage the other. The block is turned so that 
the register marks appear at the top. The paper is 
picked up in the normal manner, that is with thumb and 
forefinger, but is held between the lips so that both 


53 


hands are free to guide the corner and the edge into 
their exact positions. 


Now lay a sheet of butter paper over all and rub with 
your baren. If it is a line block little ‘pressure will be 
needed, but a large area like a flat background or an 
unbroken sky will require energetic rubbing. Don't rub 
small disconnected patches; take long sweeps up and 
down in the latter circumstance,beginning at the left 
side, and let the direction of the stroke be at right angles 
to the ribs of the baren. Do not go over the same ground 
twice if you can possibly avoid it. Too much or too 
vigorous rubbing will make spread lines or edges on ‘your 
print; that is, the paper will be forced over the sides of 
cut shapes, picking up pigment which never belonged 
to the surface. 


Peel the paper off the block gently, and put it under 
a damp sheet. 


Before doing that, however, let us examine it. The 
first print will show whether any waste area needs fur- 
ther excavation. The first impression of a line block 
usually discovers the need for more work with the knife 
and the gouges; that of a key-block should be compared 
with the original drawing. If masses of color appear 
mottled, too much water was used; if blotched, that is 
faint and dark in patches where you expected a smooth 
tint, then the paper or the color on the block was too 
dry. There is no need to let a printed color dry before 
adding a contiguous one. They will neither run, nor 
offset. 

54 


The order in which the blocks are printed depends 
upon many things. Generally the largest color area is 
printed first and the lines last. The former needs a 
damper paper, and each exposure to the air helps the 
paper into condition for the lines. But at times one 
color must be imposed on another and the order cannot 
be reversed; a transparent color may be required to give 
a bloom to an opaque one, for example. Sometimes it 
is advisable to print the line block first, in which case 
the sheets must be redamped for the colors. 

GrapaTions. To print gradations load only one cor- 
ner of the brush with pigment, the rest of it with a little 
water and paste. If the gradation covers a large space 
this is unnecessary: start with a full brush where intense 
tone is intended and work towards the light; you will 
find if you manage properly that you will finish with a 
comparatively clean brush. It is sometimes expedient 
to print the gradation first, and a flat tone over it. For 
small areas, such as the boy’s red cheeks in “The Bather” 
(page 24), use a dry brush with a small quantity of 
strong pigment, already mixed with paste, on damp 
wood. 

The practice of mixing powder and paste on the 
slab before use is effective for intense tones, and small 
patches of color, and it saves time on most blocks. ‘The 
ideal surface, however, is obtained only by brushing 
paste over color already spread upon the block, and this 
method should always be used for large masses of color. 

The best impressions are taken when the wood has 
become a little sodden with paint and paste and its pores 

55 


closed. It follows that the more impressions taken off 
at one sitting the better. After trial proofs have been 
pulled and studied, and the final state of the print 
decided upon, let your first set number as many as may 
be finished conveniently in two days. 


When your papers become too dry always stop print- 
ing and slip them between damp sheets of newspaper. 
It will never do to persuade yourself that a slight dry- 
ness does not matter, or that with only a few more to 
do you might as well go on. It is the little extra 
trouble occasioned by the determination to have 
every step perfectly accomplished that makes all the 
difference between success and failure. From begin- 
ning to end everything must be right, every small 
process efficiently performed, all mistakes corrected, not 
slurred over, and success, you will find, is easy of attain- 
ment. 

Trial proofs show mistakes made in cutting; faulty 
register marks for example, which must be corrected; 
smudges which indicate shallow clearing of waste 
spaces; overlapping edges, and so forth. 

I have described this process because I have found it 
the most satisfactory; not the easiest, but the most beau- 
tiful. Other binders than paste may be used. Some 
artists invariably use oil on dry and unsized paper, in 
the form of printers’ inks, of doubtful permanence, or 
artists’ oil paints in tubes, conserving a great deal of 
energy. For years I used water-colors in tubes or pans, 
latterly with a little paste, on unsized paper. The print 
so made differed from the powder-and-paste print in 

56 


“Sic transit gloria mundi” by William Giles with a full-size 
fragment in color. 


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“The Jetty, Sennen Cove” by John Platt, with a full-size 
fragment in color. 


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“The Shinto Temple of Masaki, Yedo, in Snow” by Hiroshige 
with a full-size fragment in color. From a print in the 
possession of the author. 


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“Wylye Mill Bridge” by the author 


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surface quality. It has an unpleasant glaze due to the 
gum, and records also all the imperfections of the wood, 
because, being very finely ground, the pigment pene- 
trates its pores, and even with the aid of paste has insuf- 
ficient body. 


GOLD AND Sitver. The gold and silver in Japanese 
prints are brass and lead powders mixed with glue and 
printed directly from the wood block. A better method 
is to print with a sticky mixture: glue or gelatine size, 
or gum, mixed with some pigment if you like, and to 
brush bronze or lead powder over the print with a soft 
brush, immediately. 


DryING THE Prints. The finished prints must be 
laid out to dry, and then ironed on each side. Use a 
fairly hot iron, and cover the print during the process 
with a piece of rice paper or tissue. Or, preferably, place 
the prints separately between drying boards (straw 
boards) in a pile under a weight. This process may last 
a week in a humid climate, so that the first has the 
advantage of speed. 


Eprtions. It is usual among print makers to limit the 
number of proofs taken from one set of blocks, though 
hard wood will stand up under very extensive printing. 
Thousands of good impressions can be pulled. White- 
wood, which is very soft, failed me on one occasion 
after four hundred printings, wearing on the edges and 
surfaces, too, but it was a poor piece of wood. That is 
the only example of serious deterioration within my 
experience. An edition of one hundred proofs is com- 

57 


mon. It is indicated on each proof in this way: the 
first is marked on the lower margin in pencil 1/100, the 
second 2/100, and so forth. The proof is also signed 
in pencil immediately below the design on the right, and 
frequently the title is added. 


re a eee 3S 00 Polavary)d TER « 


Proofs are marked “second state” when further work 
has been done or some alteration made after a number 
have been issued, and if the second state is final it may 
comprise a complete edition disregarding the number 
published in the earlier state. Extra proofs are some 
times made for special reasons, which are indicated 
thereon. 


MarkeTING Prints. The most effective way to mar- 
ket prints is through a print publisher, but many of them 
naturally look askance at an unknown artist. If this 
should happen to you, submit your work to interested 
societies for exhibition—a list of them is appended 
-—-where the critics in the light of their physical well- 
being and according to the extent of their knowledge, 
may appraise them conveniently. For an intelligent esti- 
mate of your technique go to another artist working in 
this medium. 


EpitocuE. I have tried to describe the whole process 
of making a wood-cut in color as minutely and as faith- 
fully as possible. Follow the instructions as faithfully 
and you may succeed. Difficulties will assail you only 
when you lack in concentration and persistence. It is 


58 


most important to perform each operation perfectly. 
Be content with nothing less than perfection. Careless- 
ness in pasting a drawing down on wood for example, 
must be paid for in time, material, and energy. There is 
nothing more exasperating than cutting through paper 
that has failed to stick when sections of it fall away to 
leave you without guide lines. Every careless gesture 
entails a penalty—but cultivate patience. 1n printing, 
remember that cleanliness and order wait upon success. 


59 


PROGRESSIVE PROOFS 
The frontispiece, a wood-cut in color, was cut on five 
blocks of Canadian cherry wood. A photograph of each 
block is reproduced on the following pages, together 
with an impression from each. 


The Key block 


& 


block 


va 


from the Key 


10n. 


impress 


An 


The gray block 


The first block printed, because, its printing area being greater than that of the 
other colors, it needs a slightly damper paper. Observe the position of the register 
marks which duplicate those on the key-block. The remaining colors were printed 
in the order in which they occur on the succeeding pages. 


The blue block. 


An impression from the blue block. 


53 


The green block, with patch of red. 


Brown and yellow block. — 


An impression from the brown and yellow block. 


e° 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Victoria and Albert Museum Handbooks. Japanese Color: 
prints by Edward F. Strange. London, 1910. 


_ Containing comprehensive chapters on the history, sig- 
nificance, and technique of the craft as considering Japan, 
with some sixty half-tone reproductions of outstanding 
prints. 


Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogues. Tools and Mate- 
rials Illustrating the Japanese Method of Color-printing. 
By Edward F. Strange. London, 1913. 


A short but accurate account of Japanese practice, with 
diagrams of the tools employed, and descripitive paragraphs 
regarding colors and the various vehicles used with them. 


Washington. U.S. A. National Museum. Report of the 
Smithsonian Institute for the year ending 30th June, 1892. 
Japanese Wood-cutting and Wood-cut Printing. By T. 
Tokuno. Washington, 1893. 


The Japanese Color Wood-cut. By Walter Baedeker Mahlow. 
Die Kunst Schule. February, 1925. 


Wood-cut Printing in Watercolors After the Japanese Man- 
ner. The Studio, London, 1894, and some articles published 
subsequently in the same journal. 


Wood Block Printing, By F. Morley Fletcher. Pitman, Lon- 
don. | 


The first book on the recent revival of the craft in 
Europe, and since its publication the standard work on the 
subject. It contains many illustrations, including an original 
print by the author. 


61 


The Original Color-print Magazine, published in London by 
William Giles, Chenil Studios, Chelsea, 1924, 1925, 1926. 
An annual publication, with an original print as supple- 
ment, containing articles on the craft and on relative sub- 
jects by living artists. A most valuable book. Among its 
contributors are the editor, William Giles, Allen Seaby, 
Y. Urushibara, Morley Fletcher, Claude Flight, George H. 
Viner, and W. J. Phillips. 


Color Printing with Linoleum and Wood Blocks. By Allen 
W. Seaby. Dryad Handicrafts, Leicester. 
A useful manual, written primarily for schools. 


The Modern Color-print. Malcolm C. Salaman, London. 
An appreciation of the work of British color printers, 
with an account of William Giles’ new relief-metal process. 


62 


SOME SOCIETIES OF PRINT MAKERS 


The Society of Graver Printers in Color. Acting Secretary, 
H. W. Bromhead, 18 Cork Street, Burlington Gardens, 
London. 


The Color Wood-cut Society, Mrs. E. C. Austen Brown, 16 
Fulham Road, London. 


The Society of Print Makers of California. Secretary, Howell 
C. Brown, 120 N. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, California. 


The Canadian Society of Graphic Arts. Secretary, C. F. 
Comfort, 87 St. Clair Avenue E., Toronto, Ontario. 


63 


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